News / Palestine

Israel sets conditions on returning Palestinians bodies

Tuesday, 09 February 2016 7:16 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 09 February 2016 9:30 AM ]

Israeli troops hand over the body of a Palestinian to members of the Red Crescent on Feb. 5, 2016. (©AFP)

Israel says it will release the bodies of 10 Palestinian protesters killed by its forces only if their families agree not to hold funerals for them during the daytime.

An Israeli cabinet spokesman said Monday Tel Aviv will return the bodies if the families “agree in advance that the funerals take place at night, with a limited number of attendees.”

The official said the conditions have not been accepted by the families yet. Israeli media said two of the bodies could be returned by Tuesday to families in East al-Quds (Jerusalem).

Israeli authorities fear such mass funerals could turn into more Palestinian protests against the occupation.

The Tel Aviv regime has come under fire by Palestinian officials and human rights groups for staunchly refusing to return the bodies of Palestinian victims.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed three Arab members of the Knesset (parliament) for “building walls of hatred” after they visited the families of the Palestinians killed by Israeli troops.

The Israeli premier vowed to push ahead with a bill which would suspend lawmakers from the Knesset for what is described as “unseemly behavior.”

Tensions have been running high in the West Bank after Israel’s imposition in August 2015 of restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque compound. The mosque in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) is the third holiest site in Islam.

More than 170 Palestinians, including children and women, have been killed by Israeli forces since the outbreak of tensions in the occupied Palestinian territories last October. Some 27 Israelis, mostly soldiers, have also lost their lives in Palestinian attacks.

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